Cheap Pasadena

Visitors to L.A. usually look at staying in Hollywood, the Westside, downtown or in OC when they arrive, but they're often missing out. Hollywood is crowded, the Westside is expensive, downtown can be sketchy and the OC is great for Disneyland but you're far from everything in L.A. A good solution: Pasadena. There are some good hotel deals and lots of interesting attractions, especially if you love art and architecture.

Known mainly for the Rose Parade, Pasadena has a great Old Town with lots of restaurants and shops, the incredible Gamble House, a monument to craftsman-style; the Norton Simon Museum; and a little-known personal favorite: a tour of JPL's Space Flight Operations Facility where you can see what's happening in the universe (this one's free, but you have to jump through hoops to get tickets).

The town has lots of expensive hotels, but a cheap place to try is the Pasadena Inn, which is located near Old Town and gave us a price of $86/night for August 21-23, double occupancy.